This week marijuana regulators in the state of Massachusetts have finely tuned a plan that would set up structure for home delivery of marijuana as well as create new business opportunities.
Home delivery of marijuana has long been allowed under Massachusetts’ medical marijuana program. Advocates have been urging for a delivery-only license in the recreational market.
The Cannabis Control Commission has been thinking about a delivery framework for almost three years and will launch delivery with a period of exclusivity for participants in the CCC’s Social Equity Program and certified economic empowerment applicants.
“Consumers want delivery, we wanted delivery for a long time, and equity and economic empowerment businesses are ready to be a significant part of this market,” Commissioner Shaleen Title said.
“We as a commission have taken it very seriously since day one … to live up to this mandate to include disproportionately harmed people in the industry and today was another significant step towards that. I’m really looking forward to it becoming reality sometime next year,” she added.
It was on Tuesday that commission held a final discussion about its draft delivery policy, which would create two delivery license types: a “wholesale delivery license” that could buy products wholesale from growers and manufacturers and sell them to their own customers, and a “limited delivery license” that would allow an operator to charge a fee to make deliveries from CCC-licensed retailers and dispensaries.
Chairman Steven Hoffman said there were 23 distinct topics that one or more commissioners flagged for further discussion based on public comments.
“They were well-reasoned, compelling arguments and, unsurprisingly, not all aligned,” Hoffman said. “I want to acknowledge this is a very important issue, it’s a very contentious issue, it’s a very difficult issue, and certainly the public comments that we received reflected that.”
One issue addressed was that regulators agreed to rename the planned license types “marijuana delivery operator” and “marijuana courier,” respectively.
“This is not to protect retailers; that is not my logic or my motivation. My motivation is to allow for multiple entities to participate and compete in the delivery market and I’m very worried that someone can get a head start, be well-capitalized and make it very difficult, if not impossible, for other entities to get into this market,” he said. “So I actually believe what I’m proposing is actually defending and enhancing equity not limiting it.”
Ultimately, the CCC agreed to allow up to two delivery licenses — either two marijuana delivery operator licenses, or two marijuana delivery courier licenses or one of each.
“So with just one, I think it really becomes whoever has the most central location and the biggest warehouse suddenly has a major advantage over everyone else. But if you can have two warehouses, I feel like it’s less of a zero-sum game because then there’s more of an opportunity to build your business the way you want it, based on how you set it up with the two warehouses,” said Title.
The commission will meet again on Oct. 29 to review the actual regulatory language of the policies discussed this week and to vote on the full suite of regulations.
